


come back be here

by cadyjanis



Series: jaren [4]
Category: Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fluff, Reunions, Romance, Separation Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-08-21 18:16:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16581596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cadyjanis/pseuds/cadyjanis
Summary: it’s funny how after falling in love with karen, all the things she used to hate—especially about school—don’t seem so awful. janis is more tolerant and easygoing.but if school gets cancelled, yes, it’d be the end of the world.—janis and karen get separated due to a snow storm.





	come back be here

**Author's Note:**

> happy holigays!

All Janis wants to do is kiss her girlfriend, but the weather has other plans.

 

“My dad would kill me if I even went outside to see how cold it is,” she laments to Karen over the phone. “Plus it’s dark as fuck. I hate daylight savings.”

 

Karen heaves this weary little sigh, like they’ve gone weeks without each other rather than the few hours between school and now.

 

When you’re a teenage girl in love, it certainly feels that way, so Janis doesn’t blame her.

 

“But I miss you,” Karen grumbles, and Janis can just picture her curled up on her bed, holding a stuffed animal for moral support. Janis has never wanted to be a stuffed animal more.

 

“I miss you, too, baby,” Janis assures her, stepping away from the front window and returning to her bedroom, where it isn’t so chilled.

 

Karen hums at the pet name. “Call me that again,” she pleads.

 

Janis grins, flopping down onto her bed. “Baby,” she repeats, and Karen squeals. Janis smiles wider, wishing she could tease her in person. They actually had plans tonight (building a fort in Karen’s room and watching _Elf_ on her computer), but it’s snowing too much and the roads are dangerously icy. On top of that, it’s barely seven o’clock and it’s pitch black.

 

“I’m sad,” Karen murmurs then. “I was looking forward to later.”

 

“Me, too,” Janis agrees disappointedly. “I’m sorry. Hopefully it won’t be snowing tomorrow and I can just go right to your house after school.”

 

Karen gasps in horror. “Oh, no. What if they cancel school? Then I won’t see you at all.”

 

“That would definitely suck,” Janis says, hoping that doesn’t happen for the first time in her life. It’s funny how after falling in love with Karen, all the things she used to hate—especially about school—don’t seem so awful. Janis is more tolerant and easygoing.

 

But if school gets cancelled, yes, it’d be the end of the world.

 

“This is so stressful,” Karen whines. “I don’t even care about our date, I just miss you. And I’m cold in here. I don’t have enough blankets.”

 

“Go put on the shirt I left,” Janis suggests. “It should be in your sock drawer.”

 

She hears the rustling of Karen’s bedspread, then the rumble of wood as she opens a dresser drawer. She smiles at Karen’s gasp of delight. “Oh, here it is!” she crows, and squeals again. “Aw, you’re so cute. I love this shirt.”

 

“I know, that’s why I ‘forgot’ it,” Janis chuckles, wishing she could see Karen’s face. Karen gets so excited over the smallest things. Her surprised happy face is the purest sight.

 

“Okay, I’ll put it on after I shower. Mmm, it smells like you.”

 

Janis herself feels better knowing Karen has a piece of her to get her through this stupidly cold and lonely night. She leaves her stuff behind for this very reason.

 

“I promise I’ll make it up to you,” she vows quietly, twisting a lock of hair around her finger and pretending it’s Karen’s. “Tomorrow, or whenever.”

 

Karen makes a tiny sound. “Aw, I know. It’s okay.” She sighs again. “Well, I’m freezing, so I’m gonna go take a hot shower until I’m not shaking my buns off. I’ll call ya later, Jan.”

 

Janis laughs. “Okey dokey. Be careful, love.”

 

“I will. Byeee.” Karen sounds as reluctant to hang up as Janis does.

 

“Bye, baby,” she says one more time, and the call ends with Karen’s sweet giggle in her ear. It doesn’t take much to make that girl laugh.

 

Janis sighs, the weight in her chest probably colder than the temperature outside.

 

* * *

 

School gets cancelled. Janis somehow knew it would, and curses the universe for being cruel and homophobic. She and Karen FaceTime when they both wake up, wanting to see the other even on a screen. Janis props her phone against the cereal box and watches Karen search for food in her spacious kitchen, chattering about how unfair the weather is.

 

“I’ll see if I can drive later today,” Janis tells her, half-hopefully. “I mean, maybe it’ll warm up as the day goes on and the roads won’t be so snowy.”

 

“Yeah.” Karen shrugs, pouring syrup over her waffles. “With our luck, I doubt it.”

 

Janis agrees, but doesn’t say that, not wanting to depress her further. “You home alone?” She only asks because she’s afraid Karen will start to freak out about the weather.

 

“No, my mom’s still sleeping,” Karen says, and Janis relaxes slightly. “Aw, were you worried?”

 

“Perhaps,” Janis replies evasively around a bite of cereal.

 

Karen sticks her tongue out at her. “You so were. But don’t worry about me, Jan, I’m perfectly content being trapped in my house knowing my girlfriend is halfway across town missing me. I will be just fine. Caucasian thumbs up.”

 

Janis very nearly chokes on her Lucky Charms.

 

They end up Skyping on their laptops later in the day, not saying anything but still appreciating the other’s company. That’s the beauty of relationships: you don’t always have to talk.

 

Janis checks the weather around four, annoyed when she sees there is still a warning out for drivers. She shares this info with Karen when she sighs and Karen asks what’s wrong. Karen makes the most pitiful noise. Janis wholeheartedly gets it.

 

“I hate thisss,” Karen moans, dramatically falling sideways on her bed.

 

She wore Janis’s shirt to bed, and is still clad it in it right now. That’s the one thing Janis takes the least bit of comfort in. She just wishes she had something of Karen’s for herself.

 

“I’ll bring my poop pillow next time I see you,” Karen promises when she brings this up. Janis laughs out loud. “What? You love my poop pillow.”

 

She retrieves the emoji-shaped pillow to remind Janis just how cute it is and that she’ll be so grateful to finally have it. Janis doesn’t doubt she will. What she really wants, obviously, is her girlfriend, but she’ll compromise for that.

 

They’ve been Skyping for eight hours when a full day has passed since they talked yesterday. Maybe it’s a tad ridiculous, missing each other so much even after a day that they have to use technology to keep from losing their minds. But they spend most of their time together anyway so Janis doesn’t see how this is that different. They just really like being together.

 

They talk on the phone again that night before going to bed, both hoping for clearer skies the next day. Janis’s alarm blares at six-thirty and the first thing she does is check the weather. It’s still freezing, but not like yesterday, so the roads are cleared.

 

Needless to say, she’s never been happier to go to school. Everything bad about that place is worth it because she gets to see Karen.

 

School is loud and bustling when she gets there, people still jacked up from their off day. Janis goes to her locker, waiting for either Karen or Damian or Cady to show up.

 

“Babe!” she hears over the crowd, and gives herself whiplash from how fast she turns around. She spots Karen pushing through (wearing a pink beanie since it’s Wednesday) and slams her locker shut so she can run and meet her halfway.

 

Karen throws herself at Janis, and they stand in the middle of the hall for several minutes, just hugging. Janis ignores the occasional gagging sounds people make in favor of squeezing her girlfriend even tighter. Nobody can ruin this, the purity of reuniting with her favorite person. It’s annoying how some people still feel the need to share their opinion, but it doesn’t matter.

 

Then Karen is cupping Janis’s face and kissing her, right there in front of everyone. “I—missed—you—so—much,” she says in between pecks, and Janis laughs.

 

“I missed you, too,” she tells her, warm and fuzzy on the inside. Karen Smith is the only one in the world capable of making her feel like that.

 

They meet up in the hall in between classes, joining Damian and Cady during break and then lunch. Janis mimics every hetero boy in the cafeteria by putting her arm around Karen, mostly because guys still pass by their table to check Karen out. Karen will scoot closer to Janis and her suitors scurry away when Janis glares at them, summoning the full force of her eyeliner.

 

When school is out, Karen follows Janis back to her place, where the Sarkisians’ dog, Howie, greets Karen with ecstatic kisses, which Janis finds relatable.

 

They peel off their layers in very non-seductive ways, but make out under Janis’s bedspread for a solid thirty minutes, making up for lost time. Then Janis just holds Karen, listening to her babble about what she thinks her parents got her for Christmas, running her fingers through Karen’s silky blonde tresses. The smell of her, being able to hold her like this, is all Janis has wanted for two days. And she’s in heaven.

 

Karen dozes off mid-sentence, and Howie wanders in to curl up beside them on the bed. Janis reaches out to scratch his ears, amused when Karen coaxes her hand back to her hair. Janis snickers and kisses the top of her head, continuing to smooth back her hair.

 

And so Karen sleeps, and Janis watches her, and it’s toasty under the covers. Later she plans on finally building that damn fort so Karen can watch her movie and talk throughout the whole thing with a bowl of popcorn between them.

 

But now they both sleep. Because being separated is exhausting.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! kudos and comments are fetch ♡


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